The first work on the widening of Interstate 5 near San Clemente and Dana Point will begin this weekend, according to a release by the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Starting Sunday, March 9, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., the on- and off-ramps in both I-5 directions will be closed at Pacific Coast Highway and Camino Las Ramblas. The closures will take place from Sunday through Thursday, March 13 during the same hours.

In addition, a stretch of PCH and Las Ramblas underneath I-5 will be closed in both directions. Detours will be in place.

Also on Sunday, northbound lanes on I-5 will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. between Camino Estrella and San Juan Creek Road.

At least one lane will remain open at all times. The work will move to the southbound side of the freeway halfway through the night. Lane closures are scheduled to continue nightly through Thursday, March 13.

The closures will allow crews to begin to place K-rail protective barriers through the project area and perform restriping work. Work will then move to removing brush and groundcover from areas targeted for widening.

The project, which will ultimately widen the interstate to five lanes in each direction between San Juan Creek Road and Avenida Pico will cost $249 million, and is paid for through Measure M county funds.

The Pico interchange will also be reconstructed and widened as part of the project.

comments (1)

This is few hundred mil well spent, finally traffic problems are solved, I’d be happy to pay even an other few hundred mil, another tax hike, so we get to 6 or 7 lanes.
It’s well known after all that more lanes means smooth traffic, also people love living next to 10 lanes of traffic, like LA…